The meaning of adventure
by Poloppi
Summary: X Drake takes care of Basil Hawkins after he had been so badly injured in the fight with Kizaru. Basil doesn’t really like it because it brings back memories. This is Slash: Basil Hawkins / X Drake
1. Chapter 1

…**is not to know how it ends**

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters created and owned by Eiichiro Oda. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. I only own the non-canon story line depicted in my story.

Basil panted heavily, his whole body lying on the ground as heavy as a stone. That lightning arrow or whatever it was what Kizaru shot through his stomach hurt a lot – or at least the damn wound it caused. That son of a bitch marin_e _was finally gone because he had been called, and now the "Magician" lay there and couldn't get up.

Diez Drake was lying in the debris of the last house he crashed through as well, but he hadn't been hurt so badly that he was nearly half as screwed as Basil Hawkins, whose upper body he now lifted carefully after he had spotted him. At least he was still alive.

"Urgh! Darn!" Basil exclaimed moaning and looked up. When he saw Drake he bit his lips and frowned. "I don't need anybody's help, thanks. Especially not yours, Mr. Drake." Basil almost hissed. Diez didn't listen to the blonde and pulled Basil fully up to his feet.

"Hey, come on, don't be all gruff. You are totally crushed and bleed like hell, Hawkins." Drake turned and tightened Basil's sash a bit to get something equal to a tourniquet before he went on: "Moreover we need to get away from here as soon as possible. The marines will certainly come back, alongside with Kizaru. I am sure that you don't want to be dragged into prison AGAIN." Drake responded calmly but emphasized the last word. That made Basil cringe internally but he managed it well not to show it. He really did not want to remember it.

"Uh, yeah? At least I won't die so very soon. The cards said it and they're always right. They didn't say anything of… confinement either." Was the constrained, dry answer.

Due to his injuries Basil had to lean against Drake and clutch at the redhead's cape, writhing slightly. "Well then… maybe it is because I offered my help to you, dear Sir Hawkins." Was the equally dry response. It seemed that both men where pretty similar concerning their social manners.

"Maybe so…" Basil's lips twisted rather uneasily upwards a little and he took some cards out of the pocket which could be found under his pink scarf that was draped around his hips, one hand still trying to stabilize the reeling body. He pressed the card deck into Drake's right and drew a few cards and looked at them for a while. "Pfff…. You are right, unfortunately." Basils deep voice was confident as always, but you could hear a slight undertone of admitted defeat. So the 100 % chance of defeat wasn't only meant to last in the battle with Kizaru, but now he had also to yield to Drake.

"But let me at least walk by myself, would you?" Basil stated and shoved Drake's arm firmly away. Unfortunately his feet were all shaky and not stable enough, so he fell forward and right into Drake's arms again, slowly becoming all dizzy as theblood loss finally showed all its effects. Basil huffed in anguish about his weakness, seeing the blood dripping slowly onto the grass.

However the physical pain was nothing compared to the mental one this all caused. He owed Drake his life already. One of the cards which he saw only a few moments ago was Five of Cups. He had to admit that this time it was hard for him to get the meaning in this special case and in fact it startled him. Loss and defeat in an emotional sense. Was it what he felt right now or would it also reach further into the future or was that even about the past? What else was to be lost? That special card wasn't something the voodoo man liked to see. The embrace of the other man wasn't exactly unpleasant but he felt like a fool. Like the fool who had been captured by that redheaded marine Rear Admiral five years ago. And that man was the same one who helped him escape from prison later and saved his life once. Maybe he would find out why their meeting in the past had been so overwhelmingly strange and so overwhelmingly cruel in regard of the future.

Drake didn't say anything. He knew that the pride of Captain Basil Hawkins was already hurt enough and he pulled the totally damaged man along with him just to be shoutedat by some of Basil's crew members who were standing quite a bit away: "Hey, what are you doing with our captain?" But before Drake could answer, Basil gave the response already: "It's alright. Just wait at our ship or do whatever you want here in town, gentlemen. I'll be back sooner or later." Hawkins gasped and his head was hanging down now, his long wavy blond hair covering his whole face and almost his whole body too. There was almost no strength left in him and if Drake hadn't held him up, he would have pounded viciously onto the ground.

Basil wasn't what you could call light, he was only a little shorter and a little less muscular than Drake – if at all - and the way he was 'walking', or rather tumbling, inclined that he was nearly unconscious, so it was even more difficult to drag him along. It took both men quite a while to get to Drake's ship. It was interesting for X Drake to see what had become of Basil Hawkins. He had become even more powerful and had the third highest bounty of all Supernovas.

Drake set Hawkins down on the bed in his captain's cabin and looked for bandages and other medical stuff in the drawer next to it.

Basil lay on his back looking at the coffered ceiling, his eyes almost shut. They became void, his breathing trailed off a bit. The situation was awkward. The last time he had been alone with Diez had been in… captivity. _Why did Drake help me to flee at all? It was by all means his fault that I had to sit and wait in that awful place for four years. Why the change in his alignment? Did he even become a pirate right after my escape?_ Drake had always been the well-mannered and rather serious type. He treated Basil as a pirate no different than any other marine, which did impress Hawkins indeed. Basil hadn't exchanged a word with Drake in all at that time, but that didn't seem to bother Drake.

The "Magician" already had his 'magical' powers when he had been caught, but he had been still so inexperienced with them. Probably his abilities were one of the reasons why he was to be executed. The marines made it clear to him on the first day he set foot into the prison cell. Still, he didn't see the shadow of death already back then. Nonetheless, his conditions during his prison sentence were very uncomfortable. The cell was extremely cold and Basil was happy to have the ability to make a few voodoo dolls out of hair from still living persons he found in his cell. But they subsequently died and made his body suffer in the end when they were gone. The four years in prison had especially affected the tall man's psyche. They made him even colder – as cold as ice.

He played with his cards all day and watched what was going on in other peoples' lives, otherwise he would have went insane. He felt his heart itching every silver rays of moonlight made their way through the barred window and into his cell. How often he was standing silently at that window glancing outside. He wouldn't die in prison but how long would it take to get out of it? Execution would have been the fastest way to escape all that sorrow.

Why had he been captured at all? It surely had been something very trivial, hadn't it? Yeah, it was – kind of – just trying to build a big cult with him as a guru, something similar to Ener who once tried to be "God"; it was boring for Basil Hawkins after all. He had never been the type to let people worship him.

But the main thing in question was the following: How did it happen that Drake got the chance of bringing him into jail? Uh, now that was the embarrassing part. Basil had been ogling the guy whole time when he confronted Hawkins' at the beach on an island, where he and his crew were just gathering more followers. Drake looked all too intriguing. He hadn't even noticed that Drake wore that characteristic marine coat with the justice sign in the back. Drake caught him totally off guard. Basil face palmed. He had absolutely no voodoo dolls stored back then. He hadn't foreseen it, foreseen that the marines would be after them. And why not? Because he hadn't looked into the cards either. Moreover he didn't transform because he was so distracted by Drake's appearance as already mentioned and before he could offer any resistance he was brought down by Drake and was knocked unconscious, just to wake in a dirty little cell. He hadn't been used to his Devil Fruit abilities yet and he had been way too sloppy. At least he had learned to be careful since then – but for a high price. Probably Basil Hawkins wouldn't have become so notorious if he hadn't been in prison once, because of being too careless about everything. He had enough time in Impel Down to think about it.

The memories faded, leaving Basil's face blank and the blood running through his sash was making a mess on the bed sheets, but Drake didn't seem to care as he approached the bed, he leaned over and removed the whole sash before painting the wound with iodine. After he was finished with that he wrapped the bandages around Basil's waist. The redhead wondered if Basil was actually feeling pain because he didn't feel or see any movement of said man's body other than breathing evenly. _Maybe he just doesn't show it…_ Diez mused.

Basil was watching him closely. He certainly wondered why Drake always wore that mask. It didn't cover that much anyway and there was nothing ugly to hide beneath it. "Is there any reason, you are helping me again? Do you want my bounty or what, now that it's higher than the one you received for arresting me last time? Want to put me back in that hole for not saying thanks? If so you don't need to make an effort of keeping me alive. I won't say thank you anyway because there is nothing I can be thankful of." Basil said to break the silence.

"No, I don't intend to get money for you at all." was the blatant answer. "I am just not a fan of seeing fellow pirates die, especially the ones I had made sure not do die in the past."

"Why all that? It seems that you're having an odd personal interest in me, Mr. Drake. You already had that interest in me five years ago, am I right? I really wonder. I was merely a petty crook in regard of what's now considered high-class for pirates."

"Yeah, a petty crook with an already enormous bounty for trying to make a very selfish use of your abilities, which could have led to serious problems if you gained too much power. And you say you were a petty crook. Pffft. You just seemed to be inexperienced in that regard and didn't take enough precautions, so you inevitably drew the attention of the marines to you. You were lucky that I was the one who got you."

"No, I wasn't. If you hadn't been the one to show up, I would never have been captured." Was the earnest answer, and with those words Basil took out his deck of tarot cards. But before he could draw any of them Drake slapped them out of Basil's hand so that they scattered around on the whole bed. "Would you please leave this stuff out of it? Why do you have to know everything? Why won't you just live instead of predicting everything? Because you can't be all calm then?"

There was no emotion seen on Basils face. " Once, I didn't look into the cards and that probably caused my grave issues with you. It's kind of interesting to see you so unusually violent, Mr. Drake. Well, you had been very straight-forward with the use of physical power when you were about to confine me, but I thought of you being rather calm than that hot-tempered. It amuses me."

Actually it didn't. It didn't matter. There was nothing to really care about. As Basil could see, Drake didn't exactly like that he brought up the point. Diez blushed slightly and didn't dare to look into Basil's staring and investigating eyes. That man had in fact caught his attention. It took quite a personality to gather an almost large amount of spiritual followers in not that much time. Furthermore he was mysterious and hard to figure out - he had always been, one could see that easily at first sight. Drake was upset that he wasn't bestowed any strong emotion by the other Supernova.

_Why doesn't he just once lose all his composure, he doesn't even when I am getting mad at him?!_ Was that man even capable of any emotion? Well, he seemed so show a glimpse of anger when Drake tried to help him and that made the whole thing of getting to know the blond man even more appealing. It was downright thrilling to lure more out of him, but now the tall man just lay there, almost beneath him – still staring at Drake with those crimson eyes. Drake was drawn into the eyes with a stern stare, his mouth slightly opening.

The expression on Basil's face didn't change at all and Basil reached out for his cards but was instantly stopped by Drake again, who grabbed Basil's wrists and pinned them down in the sheets. Hawkins' face showed pain and his mouth opened showing his teeth all pressed together. He was coiling up beneath Drake and that made his body stretch even more and the wound caused the feeling of being ripped open.

"I actually wanted to take care of your wound but it seems you don't need that help any more since you are already again doing what you probably do all day. Isn't it so?" "I didn't ask for your help, remember?" Basil whispered, his voice full of spite. Alas, the guy had a point and he was getting all upset in the end. "Why is it so hard for you to accept help? Because you want to keep up the impression that you are all strong and invulnerable?" Diez asked in a serious voice.

"That's none of your business actually. Did you just bring me here to get to know the pirate who is a creepy fortune teller with lots of voodoo dolls? Do you want to know who he really is? He is Exactly what he seems to be, I can assure you." Basil made it clear - now all monotonous again - and suddenly fell back into the pillows.

_Liar… _thought Drake and let Hawkins go to finish the bandaging. After Drake made sure everything was alright he stood up and eyed the blonde who had closed his eyes. He surely was eccentric and farouche but not creepy at all to Drake. Being that enigmatic wasn't all negative. He sat down next to Hawkins who had indeed fallen asleep. No wonder, he must have been exhausted as hell. Or did he justpass out? His face really showed extreme pain a few moments ago, so it would be one of the natural results. His golden waves had become even longer as if he had never cut his hair and he wore it all loose now. In former days it was bound to a ponytail with a broad black satin ribbon. Drake couldn't resist caressing those long strands. He removed Basil's blood-spotted coat, his boots and his gloves before he covered him with his quilt. He had regained all his beauty. Basil's hands felt rough and warm, these hands which Diez had seen touching the rough walls of the prison cell so often when he leaned against them, standing all alone in the empty moonlit room, looking into the darkness or out of the window. He never cried but always soon sat down looking a picture of misery, obviously shaking. Diez had always kept an eye on Basil Hawkins when he was near Impel Down and soon felt regret that he had imprisoned him. Likewise, he had been more than just a little shocked when he was told that Basil was to be executed. So Drake betrayed the marines greatly, which earned himself lots of problems. He rigged a dismissal paper and got Basil out of that hell. He seemed to be like a walking corpse after four years now. The first three years there wasn't any change in Hawkins' appearance, but then his health decreased rapidly. Basil Hawkins had gotten very thin, and looked sick and fragile. His eyes had been almost shut for the whole time Drake escorted him outside. He didn't say a single word to Diez, he did not deign to look at him. It hurt the Zoan fruit user more than he wanted to admit. His feelings had been hurt, and again it was Captain Hawkins who hurt him now with acting so repelling towards him.


	2. Chapter 2

**... is not to know how it ends**

**Chapter 2**

Diez lay down next to Basil, still holding the other's hand._ It's the first time, that I don't have to worry if he's safe…_ Drake mused, and closed his eyes. He soon fell asleep since the day had been more than exhausting – so full of events.

Soon a strange dream began to take over... haunting him: As many times before Drake was watching Basil in his cell on the third level of Impel Down. This time the captured pirate knelt on the floor screaming and tearing his hair. He transformed into the intimidating scarecrow which Drake had seen for the first time while they had been fighting Kizaru a few hours ago. The scarecrow went on screaming in an unbearable, shrieking voice which almost made Drake's ears explode and then it suddenly caught fire. In that dream Drake was still a marine and rattled on the metal bars to get into the cell but within seconds Basil had turned into ashes and everything went dark.

Drake woke up sweating with his eyes wide open. He gasped and felt a few tears running down his cheeks. When he glanced to his right, he was glad to find Basil fast asleep breathing evenly - he was alive. X Drake stood up and got himself some water from the kitchen. While he was looking out of the window, he poured the liquid down his dry throat. The wind was chasing the fleecy clouds over the light blue sky. _Why do I have these damn nightmares? In every dream I see him dying…_ Diez frowned and slowly went beck to his cabin. Before he lay down next to Basil again, he closed the heavy curtains. Then he cuddled himself into the blanket and inhaled the musky scent of Basil's hair. He faced the said man's back and traced his fingertips over the muscular back which shimmered through the golden strands. He finally knew what he had wanted from the voodoo man all the time, so he could fall asleep with a smile on his face.

Basil Hawkins awoke late in the afternoon. Where the hell was he? He could hear someone breathing softly – into his neck! Furthermore he felt that someone was holding his left hand, embracing him while doing so! Basil exhaled deeply and turned around and saw Drake who was as fast asleep as he had been himself a few moments ago. That was a dream, wasn't it? There was no other word for the expression on Basil's face other than aghast after the man without any visible emotion had come to the conclusion that this wasn't a dream at all.

It couldn't possibly be that Diez Drake was so fond of him; nobody had ever been fond of him – not even his parents. It hadn't been long after his 15th birthday that he ran away from home because he was hated and bored.

Basil freed himself from the clutching man and got up. He suddenly remembered what had happened the day before because of the pain the wound at the right side of his lower upper-body still caused. The "Magician" gathered all the things which were spread around the cabin and left. He was glad the ship was still landed and only a few of Drake's crew members he passed gave him strange looks, bur did not say anything.

He stopped at the railing and looked around. In fact his own ship wasn't anchored that far away. He had to get his crew together as soon as possible because Drake was perfectly right when he mentioned that Kizaru wasn't finished with the Archipelago yet. He would want to arrest as many pirates as he'd be able to catch.

However he decided to enjoy the gentle breeze on the beach first. Who knew when the next opportunity was? Basil slowly walked along the sandy coast eying the vast sea. Sunset. How he loved sunsets. They really made him developing a slightly melancholic but somehow also romantic attitude. That was the reason why nobody was allowed to share those sunsets with him. Nobody should know even some of his true feelings – ever. The sun was almost completely gone when he stopped walking and it was getting significantly darker. Basil pulled out some cards. He certainly was obsessed with that stuff. What had to be done now, what will happen next? It couldn't even be called curiosity any more but rather a lack of motivation for anything else. "Special person to arrive." he murmured in a low voice. He turned around and there was a tall slender but muscular figure dressed in black leather and with a fancy feather hat walking towards him. _Him? Everything I am obsessed with is his fault… Why him? Why does everything end up being about him?_ Basil pondered. He turned towards the sea again and crossed his arm in front of his strong chest. _I didn't notice him at all…_ Basil told himself but was waiting, waiting for the other one to arrive in spite of him not really wanting it . The former marine Rear Admiral who was approaching him was the person he least expected or better said: wished to appear the least. Well, Drake wasn't as unwelcome to Basil if he had been honest with himself. What did the "Magician" want anyway? It seemed that he was rather unsure about everything concerning himself and the former Rear Admiral. Concerning Drake Hawkins seemed to get his wires crossed. He didn't know what the redhead wanted. Did he want to "settle things" from the past? There was nothing else to discuss than what had already been discussed. He looked at the sun that was offering its last ray of light, sighed deeply and turned around again since Drake was already standing behind him; the blonde could feel it. The almost full moon was lightening the scenery now.

"Tell me what you want or do I have to figure it out myself?" Basil was waggling with his deck of cards in front of Drake's face as he said it. Drake wondered how Basil was able to be so snappy with that emotionless face and that overly calm voice. Drake had always been the quiet and composed guy himself but Sir Hawkins managed it to make him really upset being so freaking cold and repelling towards him. What did he do to the "Magician" to receive such a treatment? Hadn't he done his best after he had felt sorry for certain things in the past? This time Drake grabbed the cards by their ends and threw them into the ocean altogether. Now Basil's mouth fell open. An expression of astonishment was twitching on his face. The tall man's eyes went wide, the pupils getting even smaller than they already were. Unfortunate for him the moon gave the sentiments away in detail. Drake mirrored Basil's grimace perfectly because he was as startled as Basil, just for another reason. All of a sudden a grin showed up on Drake's face. "Now that's something different. Finally!" he remarked a bit too happily. "B-but, you-u just –" Basil stopped, trying hard to gain his serenity back. He succeeded eventually and gave Drake a cold glare. "Well, whatever, so I just get some new cards." the tall blond man stated and tried to shove Drake roughly out of his way. But that man in front of him didn't move at all, not even the tiniest little bit. "NOW!" Basil growled loudly. Why hadn't he foreseen it? He cursed himself for that.

The blonde was trembling and Diez snatched his wrist to hinder him from moving around his obstacle. Drakes face turned looking very serious now and he gaze slightly up into Basil's eyes. They were fiery, full of anger. Basil was a bit taller than Drake after all. When Basil was holding on him earlier he got the wrong impression of the captain's real height which made him a bit intimidating now.

"What do you want, Drake? I really don't see any reason why you disowned me of my precious cards and why I should stay with such a rude person as you are! I was gravely mistaken thinking that you are one of the nobler personalities! I think I made it clear that I do NOT wish your company! Stop following and stop caring for me!"

"I thought you could at least guess what I feel like, I thought your cards did tell you what I want." Drake sighed.

Basil paused to think for a moment. No, in fact the cards didn't tell him everything. They only told him what he asked them for and Drake was someone who Basil rather forewent than occupy himself more than necessary with him. There was no future for them together, there couldn't be and there shouldn't be. Drake knelt down still holding Basil's wrist clenched, picked up the card which had fallen into the sand when he threw the other ones into the ocean and thrust it into Basil's hand. It was the Page of Cups. Why was he always getting cups lately? Basil watched Diez with an expression of revelation. No, that couldn't be. Was that a demand by the cards to him? _What's this stupid fate right now. Is it joking with me or what?_ That card he held in his hand now was all about love; love he never experienced, didn't want to experience and which he was afraid of. _This card is telling me of opportunities – now. That's so goddamn ridiculous!_ He could never love anybody, emotions were for the weak and he had been weak enough recently. He didn't want to go back to that. The redhead's face and body in front of him were somehow getting alarmingly close.

"Don't come any further or I'll have to hurt you, Diez." Basil uttered almost stuttering with a fragile voice. _Oh darn… I addressed him with his first name… why am I getting all that personal?_

And as expected Drake rather took it as an invitation to embrace Hawkins instead of letting him go and so he pressed him fully against his own body. Basil tried not to tremble but he couldn't resist it. Diez' body felt so utterly good. However he just couldn't let himself go. "LET GO OF ME! RIGHT NOW!" Basil roared and broke the embrace rigorously by jostling Drake away. His face was red with anger.

"No matter what you did to save my life, I DIED in Impel Down already! I am solely an empty shell, squashed like those mussels we were trampling on! It's like being a restless ghost, but without any connection to the world around you, wandering this earth without any real goal. I wanted to go on living after you helped me to escape but I couldn't live on as before! Can you even imagine how it is to sit in a damp, small and cold cell waiting all day, waiting for anything to happen? To yourself? Not just knowing what hundreds of other people live to see? You have to cauterize your perturbing feelings and that leads you to goddamn emptiness! You regrets came too late, Diez Drake!" Basil fought with tears and he won the battle this time. Weakness only led to Impel Down, where he would die again and again. But he had just done something he had never done before: he had confessed his feelings – to the person who was responsible for them in every regard. Basil was confused since he actually had very ambiguous feelings about Drake and it finally dawned on him. For a former marine Drake had always been very kind and charming.

The blonde looked lost, really lost with his lowered head. Diez wanted to hold him again but he feared that the other man might get even more aggressive. This aggressive side was surely interesting but also scary. Before he could say anything else to Basil, he had to look around worriedly because he heard strange noises of cracking wood. They should better run because the Kizaru was certainly still around. They could never know who or what was making the noises. Leaving the Archipelago as soon as possible would be the most reasonable thing they could do now even though the things that were just going on between them two weren't reasonable at all.

"Let's go, Basil, these islands here are far more dangerous than they once were now that Kizaru is lurking here, even though it won't be for long." Basil nodded and advanced Diez just to plunge him into the moist sand and kiss him violently. Basil's tongue forced itself into Diez' mouth who met the kiss with sheer eagerness when he locked his arms behind Basil's back. Drake moaned: "Are you doing this for real, Basil?" Basil caressed the side of the other's upper body with his glowed hands, the sand scrunched under Drake and crawled under his cape to meet his bare skin when Basil pressed further into him. He decided he must be awake since it was too good for a dream involving Basil Hawkins. "Seems so, yes." Basil huffed into Diez' ear in return and pressed their lips together one more time their tongues playing insolently sweet with each other.

Suddenly Drake stopped jolting up and whispered alarmed: "Did you hear that noise? Sounds like marines." Drake looked from the beach into the jungle nearby. What he had heard had been voices! Orders! For sure! Basil was looking into the same direction as Drake now but didn't seem to be as aware of the danger as the other man. The former Rear Admiral rolled on top of the other pirate, rose and reached out his hand which Basil grabbed immediately to get up as well. Yet he felt a bit forlorn because he didn't exactly know why Drake had just stopped. Out of desire he hadn't listened to Drake at all who had in fact made it clear before. Furthermore he hadn't heard anything than Drake's panting, heartbeat and voice.

But then - out of nowhere - the blonde was forcefully pulled after Drake and suddenly heard some rifle shoots. It dawned on him why. "Damn!" Drake cursed. Hawkins stumbled after the redhead until his high-laced boots found halt in the sand and the right pace to adequately keep up with him. "When the marine mob is around, the admiral won't be far away, which means we will get caught if we don't get our ships ready and set sails as fast as possible." Drake proclaimed sincerely while he was running rather fast, seemingly without much effort.

"But I can't possible leave members of my crew behind!" Basil exclaimed rather upset.

"The ones, who aren't on the ship by now, are already captured by a chance of 100 %." Drake responded calmly in Basil's manner.

"If we head to the New World and are able to gain an advance, they won't follow us since they need to return to the marine headquarters for Portgas D. Ace's upcoming execution. They need every reinforcement they can get since a war against Whitebeard is not to be taken lightly. Thus they can only imprison those who are along the way so to say, due to a lack of time." he continued.

"You are very well informed… " Basil admitted. He couldn't add anything productive since his tarot cards – except one - were floating in the waves of the ocean.

Drake's ship was the first one in sight and their ways parted since they both had their own duties as liable captains.

"Until we meet again." the former marine Rear Admiral said with a deep bow and jumped onto his ship.

"Why won't you stop helping me?" Basil yelled up to the other captain and added a faint "I am not worth it…". "It's the same reason why you kissed me." Drake smiled in response and disappeared out of sight.

**To be continued…**

Constructive criticism and reviews how you liked it are very appreciated.**  
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